Alexandra Da Dalt

The plaintiff in a proposed class action against Amazon moved for approval of a third-party funding agreement under section 33.1 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.

The motion was unopposed.

The court found the agreement to be fair and reasonable, noting it provided sufficient funding for disbursements and adverse costs without overcompensating the funder.

The court also granted an order designating the plaintiff's lawyers as class counsel and precluding the commencement of similar actions in Ontario without leave of the court.

The plaintiffs successfully obtained an anti-suit injunction to halt an arbitration commenced by the defendants in Hong Kong, which was found to be an abusive collateral attack on prior Ontario rulings.

The plaintiffs sought costs on a substantial indemnity basis.

The court awarded the plaintiffs $261,900 in substantial indemnity costs, emphasizing the defendants' vexatious and oppressive tactics in pursuing the foreign arbitration and threatening the representative plaintiffs with personal financial jeopardy.